Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care Essay

The influence of individuals

The key principals of the learning theory is when a child sees certain displays or acts of behaviour, that they are more likely to copy it. He argued that we learn through a process of imitating role models, but that we also imitate the actions that are seen that could be a possible interest. (Bandura, 1961) conducted a study to investigate if social behaviours such as aggression can be acquired by imitation. Bandura tested 36 boys and girls from the Stanford University Nursery School with children between 3 to 6 years old. The role models were one male adult and one female adult. Bandura then arranged for 24 of the boys and girls to watch a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy known as the bobo doll. The adults began to attack the doll in a distinctive manner, throwing the doll in the air and shouting. The researchers pre- tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behaviour on four five point rating scales.

It was then possible for the children in the groups to be matched so that they had similar levels of aggression within their everyday behaviour. The children were then tested individually through three stages, which consists of modelling, which is studied as observational learning, as one needs to be paying attention, being able to store information effectively, and reproduction, which involves performing he behaviour that has been observed. Further practise of this skill will then lead to improvement and skill advancement. In stage two (Aggression Arousal) the child is then subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’, which is when the child is taken to a room with relatively attractive toys. As soon as the child starts to play with the toys the experimenter tells the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children.

The final key stage is being tested for delayed imitation, which consisted of taking the children into a room with a number of aggressive toys consisting of mallets, tether balls, dart guns, and the Bobo Doll. The room also includes several non – aggressive toys, including crayons, paper, dolls, plastic animals and trucks. The children were then allowed to play in this room for a period of 20 minutes while raters observed each child’s behaviour from behind a one way mirror and judged each child’s levels of aggression. This is the process of testing the individual on how much information has been previously retained, and how they transfer this information.

The findings from this and similar studies have been used in the argument that media violence might be contributing in some degree to violence in society. The obvious criticism of this argument is that there are many other factors influencing whether or not we are likely to imitate screen violence. One of the major factors also is perhaps the level of aggression we already have, which might have been learned, in our family relationships or elsewhere. Social Learning Theory has also been used to explain the so-called ‘cycle of violence’, or more technically ‘the inter-generational transmission of aggression’.

The basic idea is that if one has been the victim of (physical) abuse as a child, you are more likely to be an abusing parent than if you haven’t. It also increases the chances that you will be a wife – or a husband – “batterer”. It is also important to note that such early experiences make it more probable that people will become more aggressive but it is never certain, or inevitable. In addition to influencing other psychologists, Bandura’s social learning theory has had important implication in the field of education. Today, both teachers and parents recognize the importance of modelling appropriate behaviours. Other classroom strategies such as encouraging children and building self-efficacy are also rooted in social learning theory.

The statement “Children who witness domestic violence are at increased risk of having abusive relationships as adults, researchers have found.” (BBC,2003) is based on the process of modeling, as the children who are susceptible to violence and abuse are more likely to take in what has been done and copy the behaviour.

I personally think that Health and Social Care Services could not be able to target this on-going problem, because I feel that child abuse and domestic violence can still happen behind closed doors, when not reported, or when no tell-tale signs are shown. I feel that the Social Services could target this problem more accurately by advertising it more, and spreading the word that it is okay to speak out. Charities such as NSPCC and NCDV help those who are being abused, or witnessing abuse. Other projects such as enlisting in more guest speakers to speak to children in schools about abuse or domestic violence, and how it can affect individuals around them. I think there should also be more counsellors enlisted in schools, to assist and assure pupils or children who are being abused that they have someone to speak to about their problems.

Counselling sessions should also made widely available for groups of women who are experiencing domestic abuse, to come forward and know that they are not alone, because they do not deserve to suffer in silence. More family inspections should be carried out, as these can give away vital signs of abuse, so it is often critical that the services carry out these checks. The Social can also target this problem by urging schools or teachers who know of any child who is being abused to come forward. Doing all of the above will significantly help the increasing levels of children who are witnesses of domestic violence, and hopefully create a slightly safer environment for victims or witnesses and decrease the amount of domestic violence which occurs in the home.

Campaigns

The first campaign I am going to be analysing is the “Stop Knife Crime” campaign, launched in 2008, which was endorsed by David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James, who are all football greats, and role models to many who are interested in the sports or football sector. This particular promotion has used these role models by photographing them holding up signs, which endorse the campaign’s slogan, “Stop Knife Crime, it doesn’t have to happen”. Also, the use of Beckham and Rio Ferdinand having encountered a knife crime experience, further adds to them being role models, as they can relate and understand the dangers of this topic more, and broadcast their understanding to the public. There was a 10% decrease in knife crime rates in London after this campaign. Funding was also being contributed to pay for 85 more portable search arches and 566 church wands to allow more operations to take place.

The second campaign I am going to be analysing is a Weight Watchers campaign, endorsed by Jenifer Hudson, who managed to lose more than 80 pounds, going from a size 16/18 to a size 8. This particular promotion has used Jennifer as a role model because she is a successful singer, and she can relate and understand the situations that those who are trying to lose weight are going through. The campaign have further endorsed this by photographing her in pretty, glamorous outfits with slogans such as “I believe in WeightWatchers” and “I lost with WeightWatchers and I feel stronger than ever”, which would make women want to be or look just like her. WeightWatchers were successful with their promotion using Jenifer Hudson, as they had an increase in memberships in 2013.

Application of the psychodynamic perspective

The key contributors to this psychodynamic approach are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and Carl Rogers. The psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality.

Anxiety is a disorder, and is according to (nhs.co.uk) “ A feeling of unease, fear, or worry, that can be mild or severe”. Anxiety is something that everyone can also experience from time to time, without being given a diagnosis of it. Most people can relate to feeling tense and uncertain, and worrying about for example, going for a job interview. One may be worried about feeling uncomfortable, appearing foolish, or in how successful they will be. In turn, these worries can affect one’s sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate.

Someone may experience anxiety for no reason because maternal conflicts can make a person feel anxious. In Freud’s view, anxiety arises when the ego cannot adequately balance the demands of the id and the superego, and the id begins to demand gratification of it’s impulses, and the superego demands maintenance of it’s moral standards.

Some of the ways one can use to control their anxiety vary, as methods such as writing down any worries or concerns one might have, on a laptop, on a phone, or on paper. Also, by beginning to accept uncertainty could help one’s understanding that life’s problems do not require immediate solutions. By also doing things such as practising relaxation techniques, adapting healthy eating habits, reducing alcohol and nicotine intake, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep, could also help control anxiety.

Application of the Humanist Perspective

They key contributors to the Humanist Perspective were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. The key concepts to this psychological approach are that humanistic psychologists study human behaviour, not only through the eyes of the observer, but also through the eyes of the person doing the behaving.

The model of counselling developed by Carl Rogers was based on the psychological environment described as being one where a person felt free from threat, both physically and psychologically. This environment could be achieved when being in a relationship with a person who could have been deeply empathetic, accepting, and genuine.

Empathy is defined by (google.com) as “The ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. An example that I have picked up on, or felt when someone has been empathetic towards me, is when I ask my best friends for my advice on a situation, and they are very understanding and listen to what I am telling them, by showing me actions of empathy, such as for example, nodding, saying “yeah” and “mm hmm”, which are general empathetic indicators.

Active listening is not just about taking information in and processing it, but it is also our physical demeanour and body language. Egan (1986) devised five key components, which contribute to active listening, which goes back to the “SOLER” process. By inputting SOLER into active listening, an approach can be adapted with friends, family, or even colleagues The SOLER process can be interpreted to active listening in the following steps:

S – Sit straight (this is important in conveying the message that ‘I am here with you’)
O – Open posture (indicating openness to listening to anything that the speaker chooses to share)

L – Lean forward (indicating an interest in the speaker’s words)

E – Eye contact (another way of expressing interest and reassurance)

R – Relax (a relaxed posture puts the speaker at ease).

Applications of the Cognitive Perspective

The key contributors to this particular theory were Ulric Neisser, Jean Piaget and Edward.C Tolman. The key concepts within this approach is that this perspective applies a nomothetic approach, which is an approach to research that seeks to establish broad generalizations or laws that apply to large groups of individuals to discover human cognitive processes, but has also adopted idiographic techniques through using case studies. Typically, cognitive theorists use the laboratory experiment to study behaviour. This is because the cognitive approach is a scientific approach.

CBT is a form of talking theory that combines cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy. It focuses on how one thinks about the things going on in their life – their thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes, or cognitive processes, and how this impacts the way one will behave and deal with one’s emotional problems. It then looks at how one can then change the way they behave and deal with emotional problems. It then looks at how one can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing difficulties. In turn, this can also change the way one feels.

CBT can help one understand that this is what is going on and can help to step outside of automatic negative thoughts. By continuing to think and behave negatively, one will not have the chance to find out that their thinking and prediction may actually be wrong. Instead, the way one thinks and acts can lead oneself to be more convinced that what they are thinking is true, which therefore breaks the cognitive triad.

By using the CBT method, one will learn to recognise how they think, behave and feel, and also encouraged to check out other ways of thinking and behaving that may be more useful. A PTSD, better known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, such as serious road accidents, violent personal assaults, prolonged sexual abuse, witnessing violent deaths, military combat, being held hostage, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters.

Some of the symptoms associated with a PTSD will often relive the traumatic event that they went through, through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find may find concentrating difficult. These symptoms are often quite severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on one’s day to day life.

CBT can be applied to treat PSD by using one of the various, but most preferred method, which is known as deep- diagraphamatic breathing, which is taught to patients as a quick method to calm the patient prior to and during real life exposure to the patient’s most – feared situation, for example, like starting to drive again after a lengthy period of avoidance, which could be brought on my their PTSD.

Application of the Biological Perspective

The key ideas or concept within the biological approach consist of three main components, which are the Physiology – which is how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, and how changes in structure or function can affect behaviour. Then there is the investigation of inheritance, which is what an organism inherits from its parents, better known as genetics, and finally, there is the comparative method, which involves studying different species of animal and studying and transferring these ideas to the analysis of human behaviour

The biological approach was effective when looking at the study of children because all development within children tends to take place according to a biological plan, and by studying the physiological aspects of a child’s brain and how it works and progresses, and their inheritance, by studying them and their parents to see what has been inherited and link this to their developmental progress.